


Firework

by ArtiTweek (Morbid_Canary)



Category: South Park
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-12
Updated: 2018-07-16
Packaged: 2019-02-14 01:23:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12996780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Morbid_Canary/pseuds/ArtiTweek
Summary: Tweek, Pete, and Bebe all have a few things in common: they love singing, dancing, and the trio makes up the only true LGBT group in town. Struggles with crushes, realising they're not kids anymore, and achieving their dreams awaits, even if Tweek's basement is their stage.[creek, pete x michael, bebe x clyde, some clyde x tweek][gay stereotypes, angst, closeted characters, and a VERY slow burn ahead][also posted on FFnet]





	1. Morning Coffee

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This fic is also posted on FFnet, so if you see it on both sites, it's still me, the author. Please excuse the « »'s and ‹ ›'s. I realise that they are annoying to english speakers but they are quotation marks.

Tweek had just finished picking off the rest of his weekend nail polish and rubbing the blurriness out of his right eye when he heard an all familiar knock on his door. It was a Monday, and Monday meant that Craig was going to walk with him. His taller, deadpan once-best friend always walked with him on Mondays, mainly because it meant that Tweek's parents would have made hot chocolate, and not coffee. Stowing away his glasses, grabbing his bag and throwing it over his shoulder, Tweek grabbed the two full cups and opened the door. Surprisingly, he wasn't greeted by Craig.

« Hey, dude, got a minute? »

A voice asked, as Tweek realised who it was. The average height male, dressed in all black with silver studs except for a white button up, hair still sporting a red splash onto the black fringe; this was Pete. Tweek nodded, and handed his friend the other cup of hot chocolate, looking around as he exited his house and stepped down the stairs. Down the street, Craig was turning the block, but the blonde knew that the boy wouldn't catch up to him with Pete walking with him.

« What's up? »

Tweek replied, his taller friend usually didn't talk to him at school, or walk with him. The other goths must be mad at him, he thought, that's why he's walking with me today. Pete ruffled his hair and took a sip of the beverage, sighing before he replied.

« Euhhh…I've got it bad, man, »

The blonde looked him over, but didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. The goth noticed this, and chuckled softly.

« My crush on Michael, it's getting really bad. I walked past his house and saw him with that chick he's been with, and I got anxious and angry… How do you deal with your crush on Craig? »

So that's why Pete came to him, he realised as he heard his friend let out a small laugh of embarrassment. It was rather well known that the short blonde boy was gay, though not everyone knew it. Tweek was close friends with the girls and even though he was kept around by his other friends, him being so well accepted by Wendy Testaburger and Bebe Stevens is what outed him to most people. Even at seventeen, few boys were truly good friends with the girls. Unless they were dating one, flirting with one, or gay, the women of South Park High barely paid the guys any mind. Tweek also had himself to blame for being outed, him occasionally wearing rainbow stickers on his cheeks didn't exactly say « I'm straight! »

« Maybe you should spend some time apart from him, » The blonde began softly, « You can always hang out with me, you know. »

The reassurance helped the goth boy smile. They don't hang out in school because of the whole goth, and gay, thing. Pete didn't want to seem like he was actually friendly. The pair smiled and kept walking, eventually making their way to the school's entrance. Pete ushered his friend inside the school so he could smoke, and to let Tweek have ample time to separate himself from the goth.

Tweek adjusted his shirt slightly; he hated button ups yet wouldn't dare wear his favourite outfit at school. The first time he wore cut-offs and a tank top with a large zip-up hoodie over it, he got called a faggot at least seven times, and got beat up by the seniors and Cartman. No matter how much Wendy and Red told him he looked cute and that he shouldn't listen to what the other guys have to say, he still wouldn't put it back on. The only time you'd ever see the blonde wearing his true style was if he was going out on a date, going somewhere with the girls, or at home. All other times, he was on guard. It wasn't without merit, however, as he was often the target of manipulation at the hands of Eric Cartman.

The boy had mellowed out over the years, thanks to the medication his psychiatrist prescribed to help control his anxiety and paranoia. It wasn't just the medicine, however, as he finally felt comfortable with his group of friends and he trusted them all, so he didn't need to be so worried. Still an insomniac, though, he would occasionally get so tired that his medicine didn't have an effect, and he would shake like an earthquake and breathe like he'd just sprinted through a marathon. Luckily enough, his friends were always there for him, no matter how ridiculous the situation.

As he entered his homeroom he spotted Bebe, another blonde and taller than him, sitting at his desk. In a red shirt and black leggings, she reached towards him and plastered a rainbow heart sticker onto the blonde's cheek as he approached. Tweek smiled as one of his closest friends hugged him and switched to sit on the top of his desk instead of in the seat. Despite being happy, the lack of caffeine in his body was causing him to shake, and he knew Bebe would think he's anxious.

« So, what's new Tweekers? »

Bebe asked, checking her phone as the vibrating teenager downed the last of his drink and tossed it about a foot into the trash can.

« Pete might sit with us today, » Tweek began, « He's having it rough. »

As they were the only two in the classroom, they didn't mind talking out loud for once. No one knew Bebe was bi, and no one knew Pete was also gay. This connection made the unlikely trio great friends, despite the very different cliques they all came from. Bebe tilted her head, eyeing up the boy.

« Did he do it? »

« Nope. His crush is dating someone now. »

« Poor guy, » Bebe sighed, « I'll try to get him to sit with us at lunch. »

She hopped off of Tweek's desk as the first bell rang, telling everyone to go to their homerooms within five minutes. Their teacher hated when desks were sat upon, so it was her duty to get to her seat before she'd get caught. Someway, somehow, their teacher had followed them into high school, but he wasn't any better at teaching. Homeroom was a bore, but at least it took care of thirty minutes and allowed him time to recheck his homework.

An incoming text from Wendy broke his focus as he noticed his screen light up. ‹ How are you? › Tweek smiled softly, Wendy always asked him that, every morning, since the day two years ago that he told her that he was suicidal. She was deeply worried, and of course, would always ask him for his true feelings. ‹ i'm doing alright today, › he sent, pausing before typing again ‹ nothing new, nothing old. i think craig is a bit upset that he didn't get his hot chocolate today. › He saw the read receipt pop up, and he could practically feel his friend laugh through cyberspace. ‹ And why is that, Tweek? › her response was swift. ‹ a different friend was walking with me today, had some stuff he needed off of his chest, and craig didn't bother trying to catch up to us. › The boy replied, trying to not spill Pete's cover, after all, the goth had an image to keep up. When no reply came, he drifted back off into his work.

As the class filled fuller and fuller with juniors, Tweek nearly missed when he tossed a note at his fellow blonde across the room. The note was crucial to their day tomorrow, and if he missed…well, he might get beat up…again. Bebe grabbed the crumpled paper, read it, then stuffed it into her pocket, nodding at him from four seats away. And with that, their day tomorrow was planned.

While the day went on, Tweek found himself more and more eager for tomorrow. Instead of on the weekend, him, Bebe, and Pete were all going to fake sick and congregate in Tweek's basement for their weekly club meeting. The GOTU, also known as Gays of the Underground, was their secret, three person club where they could be as open as ever. Talks about sex, crushes, experiences, nudes and fashion were guaranteed. Half the time, the trio would just sit and talk about things, ranging from their week to their fantasies, the other half was filled with dancing, nail painting, and covering songs from their childhood years. Being in a small mountain town, the people wasn't very accepting of other sexualities, no matter what they told others.

The GOTU is their escape, where they can be themselves to the audience of three. Without the GOTU, Tweek didn't know how he'd survive or suppress his urges of dressing like, acting like, and talking about what he wanted to. Their little club was the best place for them to release everything that would normally get them pummelled. It also was a great place to bond, eat food, watch porn together, and talk about their crushes without the pressure of anyone else knowing. Pete liked it for that reason, he could go outside of his restrictive goth label then return as he walked out the door. Bebe probably liked it for the same reason, she could enter and leave without worry of any word escaping.

Lunch came swiftly as it ever could've, and Tweek had his usual choice of foods. It's always two apples, a few pretzels, a thermos of coffee from the cafeteria line, and his mom's fruit sandwich. He took his seat next to Red and across from Bebe and Wendy, as Heidi and Nicole sat down as well. Almost on cue, Kenny McCormick approached the table, and started attempting to flirt with Heidi and Red. He could feel the guilt coming from Kenny, yet when they made eye contact, Tweek pulled away instantly after seeing the other blonde boy frown. He lost his trust, he wasn't about to give in again for no reason. Tweek bit into his french toast-fruit sandwich and breathed away his stress.

« Hey, coffee cake, » a familiar voice cooed, tapping Tweek on the shoulder and sitting down next to him. « Mind if I sit here? »

The smaller boy smiled and scooted over a bit to let the goth have more room. Bebe and Wendy started striking up conversation, as Tweek retreated to his phone. The feeling of two piercing eyes made him look around, but he didn't find anyone looking at him. A small sigh escaped the blonde as his mind wandered to places he normally didn't let it. Was Craig looking at him, angry about this morning? Could it have been the other goths looking for their friend, only to see him sitting next to the twitchy blonde who used to give them free coffee? Was it just his paranoia coming back? Shaking his head slightly, Bebe caught his eye and snapped him back into reality.

« Tweeeek, you okay? »

Bebe's sing-song tone was only used if she was worried about him.

« Yeah, yeah I'm alright. »

He replied, smiling softly. Bebe knew him better than this, though, and smiled, tilting her head to direct his attention to the goth next to him. To his surprise, Pete was beaming and laughing, and he saw his friend's brown eyes light up gold. Success, Tweek thought, Sweet success.

As the school day dragged to a close, Tweek started his journey home. He had to…prepare. Tomorrow was a day where he had to fake sick in order for it to work, and with his straight A- and B average, his parents would let him stay home. With a headphone in, the blonde played some of his favourite songs as he walked, only to close his eyes for a moment and ran straight into a warm, soft wall. He darted back and apologised immediately, before he could even get a look at who it was.

« It's okay, Tweek, » a nasal, monotone voice reassured the flustered blonde, « I shouldn't have walked into you, but you dropped something. »

« Uh, » Tweek looked up at the six foot and four inch tall boy towering over him, a slight blush running up his cheeks, and took hold of the item. It was a small journal with a skull printed on it.

« This isn't mine, did it fall out of my backpack? »

« Yeah, when you left the school, I thought I'd catch up to you, » Craig started, putting his hands in his jacket's pockets. « if it's nothing, then.. » The taller boy trailed off, Tweek wondered why as he opened the journal; it was Pete's.

« OH I know who's this is! He must've put it in my bag by mistake, » Tweek smiled, hiding his blush under the embarrassment of running into his taller friend.

« Can I ask you something? » Craig said, instantly as Tweek started to walk away.

« Yes? »

« Are you gay? »

The taller boy gestured to the rainbow heart sticker on Tweek's cheek.

« I thought you knew that. »

He covered the sticker with his hand, bits of pastel purple nail polish near his cuticle.

« I wasn't sure, but I heard that goth boy call you ‹ Coffee cake › and thought I'd ask »

Tweek blushed harder, Youth by Troye Sivan hitting his ears through the one headphone.

« Yeah, Pete's a good friend of mine, he always stops by the coffee shop, »

By that point, though, Craig had started walking away. Tweek looked back, but blew it off. He probably had to go back to the school for football practice anyhow, and it's not like he ever was one to be friendly.

When he got home, Tweek took off his button up shirt and threw on a large black hoodie with the Denver Zoo's logo on it and put on navy blue shorts to just relax in. He had to make himself sick somehow, or at least appear sick. He went back downstairs and made some coffee after telling Pete that he found his journal. After relaxing for about thirty minutes and playing on his 3DS, he heard a knock at the door and approached it, nervous about random knocks during the day.

« Tweekers… » A brown-eyed blonde in an orange winter jacket was standing at the door, his hand on his neck as he avoided eye contact with the boy in the house.

« K-Kenny, what's up? »

Tweek honestly didn't know why Kenny would be stopping at his house, unless he was here to offer him drugs or try to get back together. It was really the poor boy's fault, no matter how much Kenny asked to get back together, or how genuine he was, he still had accepted a bet and entered the relationship for money.

« I know I'm an asshole, dude, I know, » he started again, « but I wanted to come by to just…apologise, again. You're one of the sweetest people I know, one of the most loyal too, and I don't know why I ever took that for granted. »

The shorter blonde had heard it all before, Kenny said the same thing when they originally broke up about three weeks ago. A two month relationship started because of Cartman betting Kenny that I would date him, the boy remembered. Kenny stood with his hands hidden, and he waited patiently for Tweek to speak again.

« I don't really think I c-care, whether you're genuinely sorry or not, that really stung, man, »

Tweek stuttered, trying to keep himself from getting pulled back into the sadness that accompanied the betrayal. Kenny sighed and his eyebrows drooped, before walking back down the steps of the porch. He watched him leave, before returning to his coffee and couch. He was playing Super Mario, but he couldn't use the 3D due to his eye issue. Perhaps he'd finally beat Bowser this time, before he got a headache.

The night drove on as the blonde waited for his parents to return home, but when he got the normal « We're running late! » text, he knew he would either have to cook for himself or order something. Not even two years ago, he would't've ever set foot in the kitchen with the intention of cooking something, he was far too jittery and anxious. One of the plus sides of his medication, he believed, was that he could now learn to cook. The boy wasn't the best at cooking, but everything he made was edible and Pete always complimented it. He decided to throw together some vegetables and ranch, as opposed to actually cooking, but it would curb his hunger.

Tweek decided to watch his favourite Norwegian drama, Skam, and go on twitter to end his night. Clyde's contact lit up his phone as he received a text from his friend. ‹ Hey, dude › it read, as he wondered why Clyde would be texting him at eleven at night. ‹ hi, what's up? › there was a small pause as the boy noticed the three dots popping up. ‹ Well, Bebe told me you're a virgin? › Oh mother fucker, Tweek hissed to himself, he had told Bebe that during last week's GOTU meeting, and it was supposed to stay secret. It's not that he was embarrassed, he hadn't been dating anyone seriously, but she shouldn't have told him. Tweek nervously typed back, ‹ yeah? what about it? › and braced himself for the laughter of his chubbier brown-haired friend. ‹ I wanted to ask if you wanted to try something with us, like you know, a threesome or something. › His face lit up like a christmas tree and he took a few seconds before replying back. ‹ i'll uh, › he typed, ‹ i'll think about it. › He could practically feel his friend smile, after all, Clyde was one of the biggest perverts in the class. ‹ Alright, HMU if you decide. ›

Tweek quickly realised tomorrow would be more than just scrolling through porn on twitter and singing along to whatever Taylor Swift album Bebe would bring.


	2. lonely day

Morning arose trough the open curtains and poured into Tweek's bedroom. He hadn't slept, hoping it would add to the sick look he was aiming for. It was barely five thirty yet he knew he had to get ready. He couldn't fake sick without some aesthetic additions. Glancing over at his phone, he noticed he had a few new messages. One from Bebe, one from Clyde, and..two from Craig? He chose to ignore them for now. He has to prepare, anyhow. His memories drifted as he remembered he recorded some of his sleepy singing practice, only to lose interest as he got through the night. Hopefully, he thought, my parents didn't hear me. He'd always alter the words, especially of love songs. If his dad had heard him change the name of someone in a song, he knew he'd see a new addition in the bathroom, and he wasn't exactly mentally prepared for it.

The bathroom was unoccupied this early, at least, as his parents weren't awake yet. Looking at himself in the mirror, by the bags under his eyes and the mess his hair was in, this would be easy to pull off. Tweek hid make up from the girls in his drawer, which, to no surprise, his dad had so caringly put condoms and his medical card into. His dad heard him singing, and seeing these things in the bathroom was the price to pay for it, even though he wasn't even dating anyone and his dad knew that. As "nice" as the help was, Tweek wasn't exactly happy to see his drawer messed with. It was his small space where he liked to stash things that he didn't want to misplace, from Chris's number to a hawk feather he had found out in the back yard, his prized possessions were in there. Along with pink barred glasses that Craig had given him in fourth grade when metrosexuality was popular. If only the jock had known what liberating kind of gift he was giving him, maybe then he wouldn't have ended up with the glasses he wore if he wanted to really get an impression going.

After digging in his drawer for a short while and reminiscing with other objects, Tweek found his small collection of make up. A blue polka-dot bag with a pink zipper, holding at least forty different beauty products. He couldn't ever buy any by himself, his anxiety was always too bad to go through with it. The girls always had to take a list of what he wanted, even if they knew he barely wore it. Some blush, pale foundation, and a slight addition to the darkness of the bags under his eyes and he'd be passing for a sick train wreck. He rarely wore makeup outside of dates or sleep overs with the girls, and hell, even on dates he would only ever cover up acne. This pale look was sure to fool his parents. They were leaving once again to spend a few days in Denver, to watch over the second location for their small coffee brand.

Tweek slipped out of the bathroom and back into his bed, making sure to rustle up his blankets and flop down on top, moving only slightly to cover part of his butt as he hugged his pillow and pretended to sleep. Drifting off slightly, he waited patiently for an hour or so, and when he heard a knock on his bedroom door, he groaned. His father entered and saw the mess his son was in.

"Tweek, are you okay?"

Met only by another grumble, his father approached and noticed the boy's ghostly pale skin.

"Oh dear, do you not feel well?"

Met again by a small noise, his dad smiled and smoothed down a piece of Tweek's hair that was particularly wild. A small sigh floated into the air and his father noted to himself to tell his mother to leave Tweek some coffee in a mug, not his thermos. This was a perfect sign of success.

After his father left the room, Tweek pulled towards his phone and gazed at the texts.

Bebe had asked about the time, to which he responded a solid 10:00 to xx:00, an interesting timeframe in which their meeting could last multiple days. He hit send and moved on.

The next was from Clyde, asking about if he knew why Bebe wasn't going to be in school, to which he texted back _'why would I know, dude?'_

Now, the two from Craig. His heart skipped a beat as he read the words on the screen.  _'Mind if i walk with you today? I missed my hot chocolate'_  he smiled. The missed time between Craig tucker and his mom's hot cocoa must've been too much for the jock to handle. The next text, however, struck him as odd.  _'Wanna maybe play some fallout later?'_  Craig knew that he was beyond shitty at video games, so why was he inviting him? The sickly blonde replied in a break, imitating his friend.  _'I'm not feeling too hot today, but I can ask my mom to leave you some,'_  he sent,  _'and if i feel any better ill text you, no promises though'_

To his surprise, and stress, his friend texted back swiftly.  _'Ew, puking and shit?'_  One text came in. Before he could finish typing a simple yeah, a second buzzed his phone.  _'Cool, if you can't come, don't force yourself, chill out for once, you deserve it'_

_"You deserve it"_

_No, I don't ,_  Tweek thought,  _i deserve your sky blue eyes piercing my skull and our lips grazing each other, for the four years I've cried over you._  If only he could type that into his phone and hit send without any worry. After sighing, the boy hit send on the 'yeah' and fell back into bed. Soon enough his mother opened the door and had the same spiel about him staying home.

Tweek coughed and caught his moms attention.

"can you leave some hot cocoa for Craig? He didn't get any yesterday.. «

He weakly whimpered, and his mom smiled. She nodded as she left the room. When he heard his parents prepare and grab their smaller suitcases, the quiet trampling through the house allowed him to hear a conversation.

"Tweek's sick huh? »

He could hear his monotone friend ask.

"Oh yes..I don't know why or how but he's ghostly pale and weak, seems like a fever or perhaps he ate something he shouldn't have."

" Hm, "

he could hear Craig remark, almost questioning the truthfulness of the situation.

"Oh! I almost forgot, Tweek told me to make you this. "

He smiled, his mom remembered his small whisper of a request

"Uh, thanks," Craig was flustered, Tweek could tell. "Tell him I said thanks, I didn't think he'd actually ask.."

His mom and his friend parted ways as he heard the scuffle and click of suitcase wheels and the inevitable shouting of "bye Tweek!" as he could hear the car rev up. He was starting to get a bit nervous. The meeting was still three hours away, but the topics that might come up worried him immensely. Bebe would be talking about clydes idea, and he didn't know how well he'd deal talking about actual things like that for once. The most he'd ever gone was touching, and that was with Chris, the child of the owners of the Starbucks in Denver which stood roughly half a block from his dads second location. That boy was calm and slow, whereas Tweek had no idea how Clyde would react to it. He wasn't even sure if Clyde was pulling his leg or not, and if he wasn't, did Clyde know anything about it? Sure, He liked Clyde as a person and as a close friend, but he doesn't like him romantically.

There isn't a point in worrying about it now, the blonde reassured himself as he sat up and adjusted his shirt, when things come, theyll come.

The morning carried on as he drank the coffee that his parents left, finished what he had left of homework, and waited on the couch for his friends to all show up. He was in a bit of a rare outfit, a black zip-up hoodie with a logo of a kpop group, white strings matching the white tank top underneath, with navy blue shorts. He left the door unlocked as he walked downstairs and set up the speakers to connect to his phone. The speakers were really just small rubber animals; Pete had gotten him one shaped like a penguin and Bebe had purchased one shaped like a horse, then Tweek gave in and got himself one modelled after a parrot. All three could connect to his phone at once, which allowed for a surround-sound like experience of their music.

As the clock struck 10:00 the blonde reminded himself to take his meds just as Bebe opened the basement door. As her heels clicked down the stairs, he swallowed his last pill and noticed her smiling face. Her hair was recently dyed to be ombre from blonde to pink, and judging by the pink stains on her hands and cheeks, it appears as if she just did it this morning. They shared their hellos and hugs as they waited for the goth to arrive, Bebe happily sipping on coffee. Unlike Tweek, Bebe always filled her coffee with cream and sugar, to the point to where it was almost a different drink from coffee entirely. Sometimes, she even asked him to make her a frappachino, which wasn't even something their coffee shop offered. Tweek, however, being a barista for basically his entire life, knew how to create almost any kind of coffee-based drink.

Their meeting was truly ready to start as they heard the metallic clicks and fumble of Pete's combat boots hit the wooden stairs of the basement. Their fun, however, would only be as long as the meeting would go before Bebe would bring up Clyde's offer.

* * *

Craig took a sip of his hot chocolate and gazed down at the cup. Tweek's parents always had custom made cups for their store, but this one was a simple brown to-go cup. Nothing special, nothing unique. Was Tweek the one who put the drinks in the regular cups? He cocked an eyebrow at himself, why was he even worrying about the cup that it was in? Why didn't he get his hot chocolate yesterday? Oh, that's right, there was a different person walking with Tweek. A goth boy who called him ‹ coffee cake › . It's a good thing Craig always scowls, because if he didn't, his facial expression surely would draw attention. The cup's warmth invaded his senses as he realised he was lost in thought. How couldn't he be, though? His hot cocoa day was a day late, that's all he needed to justify his emotions if someone asked. As he approached the school, he scanned for his clique, and saw the goths missing a member; Pete. The tallest one, a curly-haired boy with a red-haired girl hanging off of his arm, was complaining about the other's absence. From what he could hear, the red and black haired goth was sick as well. Craig blew it off until he saw Clyde.

" Hey, man, what's up? "

The brown-haired boy looked up at him and looked slightly worried, biting his lip and playing with his hoodie strings like a girl with her hair.

" Bebe is sick, her parent's don't know why, but she apparently was really pale and hadn't slept. "

" Weren't you with her last night? "

" No, I went home right after school, her and I were talking about…uh… things, and she said she needed time to think, "

Clyde said, Craig looked up with a puzzled expression.

" Things? "

" Bebe wants to uh..try something new. "

" I'm taking the bait, Clyde. "

The shorter, chubbier jock sighed, and rubbed his eyes. Craig knew immediately that he wouldn't like what his friend was about to say, nor would he have a good day after it. Clyde reopened his eyes and blushed, preparing himself for the assault of looks he was about to get. He knew he would hit close to home with his taller, normally emotionless friend.

" Bebe wants to try something with Tweek. She says he might be interested, but.."

He looked back into his locker as he trailed off, the taller boy next to him scoffed and propped himself up against the lockers. He could feel him start to heat up. The tucker boy was secretive, but it was no secret to Clyde that he was defensive, if not protective, over Tweek. They were close friends, after all. Craig stared off, whatever smile he had forming long gone. Without a word, he pushed himself off of the lockers and walked away. He could feel Clyde looking at him, the confusion and perhaps a hint of knowing, but he didn't care. Craig just wanted as much distance between him and Clyde for the time being.

Tweek was sick, Bebe was sick, and the goth he had seen with Tweek was sick. Was Tweek starting an epidemic? He stared at his shoes, hiding in an empty part of the hallway. He started letting his mind trail off, reminding himself about why he even felt like he needed to protect his short friend in the first place.

_" Hey, Craig, are you enjoying the game? "_

_A small blonde chirped, looking up from the playstation controller at his dark-haired friend next to him. His green eyes, bright and sparkling against the light. Craig breathed, smiling as he nodded, losing himself in the eyes of the boy next to him. Tweek had returned to the game, yet Craig kept staring. He snapped himself out of it as his friend looked back, worried._

_" Craiig, are you okay? "_

_The drawn out tone, the change of expression, he sighed. Tweek cocked his head, waiting for an answer. Craig needed an escape, quickly, before he'd worry the already anxious blonde more._

_" I have something to show you, "_

_the taller boy stood up, going to and walking up the stairs. He breathed, nervous about what he was about to do. As he approached his room, he tried to clear the anxieties out of his head. She'll be okay, she won't hurt him, he won't hurt her. I'll just let him play with her for a while, so she doesn't get too attached. Opening the door, he approached the cage of the animal who he considered his only true friend, the one who always listened to his problems and never insulted him, even if she did bite every now and then._

_" Come on, Stripe, i want you to meet someone. "_

_He hugged the guinea pig to his chest, scratching her head, right over her white-diamond marking on her forehead. The caramel coloured guinea pig chutting softly, he smiled and headed back down stairs. Craig hadn't ever let anyone but his family touch Stripe, not even Clyde or Token. Though the blonde wouldn't know it, meeting Stripe was Craig's way of sealing their friendship, confirming their trust. Craig had to mentally prepare himself for it, and when the time was right, he had to just do it._

_As he came back down the stairs, he noticed his friend awkwardly waiting on the couch, sipping water and sitting criss-cross on the couch. His wild hair looked even spikier from a different angle, and Craig stopped half way down the stairs, wondering if he was making the right choice, or if he'd get rejected. I'm thirteen, I'll be okay no matter the outcome, the blue-eyed boy assured himself, pushing away the worry that his friend would find him weird. After all, everyone knew he had a guinea pig, mostly because if anyone asked him a question about Stripe, he would talk about her until someone shut him up._

_« Tweekers, can you close your eyes and sit on the floor? »_

_Without looking back, Tweek replied a small yes and moved himself onto the floor, covering his eyes with his hands. Craig approached him and set his small furred pet down in front of the other boy, and found a spot on the floor a few feet away._

_« okay, open your eyes »_

_Tweek's face lit up when he saw the guinea pig staring at him. The short blonde reached a hand out, and Stripe started purring as she was being pet, even rolling onto her back for a belly rub. Craig was surprised, she'd never done that with anyone, not even with him unless he was sad or hurt. Craig felt something tug on his emotions, was it how Stripe liked Tweek instantly, or the fact that Tweek had stopped shaking and had actually smiled when he saw her? When his friend looked up, Craig noticed his eyes. Green, with secular heterochromia, one eye had one brown band and the other eye had two bands of brown in them. It was basically a physical representation of how weird Tweek is, a manifestation of his weird quirks and jitters. As Tweek smiled at him and then at Stripe,_  the memory started to fade.

Craig shook his head to clear away the last bit of the past, before heading into his homeroom a good three minutes late.

« Look who finally showed up! » An annoying voice cooed, and the parka-wearing kid who it came from was just as irritable.

« Shut up, McCormick, » Craig hissed back, only to earn a sigh from his teacher.

« Making out with some random girl again? Who's your victim this time? »

Craig ignored him, flipping him off due to subconscious impulses; he didn't need another game suspension due to beating someone up. Homeroom had just started and Craig was already ready to forfeit him playing in the next few games. It's not like homeroom ever served him any good, he just stared on his phone until the bell rang.


	3. anxious

It had only been fifteen minutes since the group had joined together, yet it was already awkward. They all sat in their normal spots; Tweek and Pete both on opposite small couches that were facing the TV, and Bebe seated next to the TV, facing towards the couches and coffee table. Tweek's basement was far from fancy, the fanciest things it had besides the TV was a bar and a bathroom, but it served as their home away from home. This time, however, the air was heavy and the soft noise of Britney Spears's ‹ Toxic › playing through the speakers wasn't lightening the mood. Tweek's withdrawn and nervous stature was effecting the way Pete presented, as he often mimicked the blonde's happiness and floaty mood during GOTU meetings. Bebe was even acting uneasy, she wasn't making witty comments or even smiling. Something obviously had to be done to spark everyone's emotions. Tweek shuffled in his seat before turning off the music, to raise his friend's attention.

« So…Bebe, » He started softly, wanting to get the heaviest topic out of the way, « I..don't really know what to say about Clyde. »

Bebe perked her head up, some of the heaviness raising as she sympathised and smiled at him. Pete raised an eyebrow, wanting in on the hidden dialogue between his two blonde friends. The goth moved closer to Tweek as Bebe looked back down at her phone before replying.

« It's up to you, bae, Clyde's a big teddy bear and if you don't want to do it, you don't have to. » She started, « After all, it's your body. He'll fully understand. »

Tweek nodded, Pete switching his gaze between the two as he tried to piece together the puzzle.

« I think I'm worried about how it might effect our friendship, I've known him forever and I'd hate to make it weird between us. » Tweek said, toying with his hoodie strings.

Bebe laughed at this, surprising her two friends as she calmed herself down.

« Tweek, Clyde wouldn't ever let that get in the way of your friendship, if it did make it weird, he'd try his best to move past it, » Her words brought ease to the twitchy blonde, but he still wasn't reassured about his emotions. « Plus, Tweekers, it's all your choice. Clyde won't push it, and neither will I if you don't want me t- »

« Okay, okay, i've sat in the dark long enough, » Pete interjected, his torso hanging off of the couch, facing Tweek. « What's up? »

Tweek smiled, swatting at the goth's fringe as he inchwormed closer to where Tweek was sitting. Pete stuck his tongue out in protest, still darting eyes at the duo of blondes.

« Clyde wants to be a pimp, » Tweek teased, tilting his head towards Bebe to direct his friend's attention.

« Oh? » A coo escaped the studded goth.

« Oh shush Tweek, » Bebe said, moving her wavy hair out of her face. « Clyde wants to try a ménage à trois, with the twinkie, »

Tweek's face lit up red at Bebe's use of the nickname he ‹ earned › when Kenny referred to him as ‹ my little twink..ie › when they were dating, referencing Tweek's identifier. Pete laughed as he flipped himself over, laying on his back, quite literally bridging the gap between the two couches. Tweek leaned over, resting his head on the goth's body as he mimicked his taller friend's earlier action of sticking his tongue out. This level of intimacy was something they had adopted due to the GOTU. The two boys felt safe; they trusted each other with basically their lives and their biggest secrets. This platonic relationship didn't stop Bebe from teasing them, of course, as it was her job to inoffensively poke fun at their near-romantic actions. In fact, one of the biggest jokes in the GOTU was that they were « platonic boyfriends ». And well, they were, sort of. Pete and Tweek knew exactly how to calm each other down in seconds, and they had occasionally found each other staying overnight if the other one needed it. They weren't just friends, they were best friends, and it really showed...outside of school, that is.

Bebe's snickers at them were enough to get them to separate. Pete sat up, fixing his hair and shirt, as he started up the music again. Tweek stretched out and laid on his back, taking off his glasses as he stared at the ceiling. He smiled softly at the light in his basement, grabbing Bebe's attention.

« What'cha thinking about, Tweek? » She said, moving her chair up within a few feet of the couch.

« Oh, nothing m-much, » His voice cracked as he answered, and Bebe knew that it was most likely one of two people. Even if Clyde got what he wanted, there were only two people who Tweek was actually interested in. What if Clyde got antsy or mad at him and started telling his crushes about it? What if they messed around and Clyde couldn't let it go? What if they found out? He couldn't stand the idea of potentially losing the trust of one or both of his romantic interests because they think he's a whore. Let alone, one is straight and might be disgusted with him. But didn't Craig ask if he was gay just yesterday? Maybe that's why their texts weren't a conversation like normal….

Tweek was pulled out of thought by a concerned quartet of brown eyes staring at him. Each blinked as he stared back, his own green eyes darting between the faces as his cheeks and nose grew red. Bebe knew that he was anxious and thinking about one of two people.

« We should all go out tonight, » Bebe perked up, pushing herself back into her chair. « It'll let you see Chris again. »

Tweek sighed as his friends retreated, his red nose still glowing. It was barely noon and Bebe was already planning to distract him until he would be forced to choose.

Chris was about an hour away in Denver. Since Tweek's parents built another coffee shop in the city, he'd been dragged out there plenty of times. Chris' parents owned a Harbucks location down the street, and despite being rivals in business the two families were friendly with each other. Chris' parents were latino, they moved from Belize into the US to open their business. Chris and Tweek had hit it off, and they often sought peace to be together in the lofts above Tweek's parents' shop. They often played video games, watched people on the streets, or even raided the baked goods section of the coffee shop and took whole pots of coffee onto the roof to just watch the stars, talk, and listen to traffic. Chris was rather tall, olive-skinned, with dark black hair and brown eyes. Good God does Tweek have a type. He was a soccer player, and always just wore t-shirts and maybe a hoodie if it was cold enough. Lord knows how quickly Tweek was to steal it from him, though, as their nights watching the sky often resulted in the taller boy giving Tweek his hoodies. The blond's closet held four of Chris' jackets, each one smelled of cologne and ethnic cooking. Tweek always liked to wear one when he felt lonely or crushing, and he didn't feel so alone anymore.

Enthusiastically, Tweek nodded at Bebe's suggestion, and she smiled back at him. Pete didn't really like going out, but he always did for the group. The goth really despised when they'd go out and just sit under a bridge, so he was praying that Bebe found somewhere new to go.

« Why don't we try to find a better place than the highway bridge tonight? » He suggested, flipping his hair and wiggling his toes. The other two looked at him like he was speaking fluent Russian and had spontaneously turned into a bear. They must've both realised that Pete was right, and they looked at each other in thought.

« I've heard there's a youth-inclusive club a few miles out of Denver, » Bebe drew out the map from her memory.

A club? Tweek couldn't even think of how loud and weird he'd act in a club. Not to mention, clubs are usually geared towards guys and girls looking for hookups. While they didn't mind being sexual, in action or in conversation, around each other, the sexual atmosphere of the GOTU was something they limited to the GOTU and that was it. Plus, would Chris even want to join them this time? The quiet nature of Tweek's date mate would clash in a club environment. Why not take a chance?

Tweek, surprising to his friends, nodded at the idea. Pete smiled and stretched out, getting up to go put his combat boots back on. After all, the time was already noon, and it'd take them an hour to get out there anyway.

* * *

Craig never thought a day could be so boring, but here he was. He poked at the dead frog on his chemistry desk with a scalpel. The teacher walked by, tapping on his shoulder. No amount of taps could clear the fog in his mind. His best friend was sick and then he hears Clyde was trying to get with him? Why did he care, anyway? Why did Clyde want _his_  best friend? He shook his head sharply. Even thinking of Tweek as a possession started to make Craig feel sick over his emotions. Too many things were pressing down on him. His coach was starting to get pissed about their scores in the past few games, Craig was off of his weekly routine already and it was only Tuesday, and now his two closest friends might be having sex with each other. He barely wanted to think of potentially losing his friends, or their bond breaking because of an action. Besides Token and Jimmy, both of who had stable relationships, Tweek and Clyde were in London Bridges. One wrong move and he'd have to deal with both a friend break up and Bebe ditching Clyde for a week for the third time. Not to mention, How would Tweek feel? They had already ostracised the blond enough when the group found out he was gay from Cartman. Their whole group excluded him for months before Craig brought him back around. Regardless, that was over a year ago…wait, why was he even thinking of a year ago?

Craig slammed his head down onto his desk before tilting it to look at the frog from a laying down perspective. The smell of formaldehyde filling his senses as he had to pull himself back. Thinking was a good thing, but not when it made him start to worry about his whole social structure falling apart. He could hear Wendy cough at him, almost as if she was telling him to sit up. The thoughts of the blond boy who owned his trust and heart and his close friend, a fellow football player, as funny and chubby as he was, started to fade. Craig somehow got himself to cut open the frog and start identifying the parts he was supposed to. Worrying about where the frog's testicles are was a much better worry than worrying about the social and emotional damage resulting from your two closest friends performing sodomy.

Wendy spared no time tossing a note at the boy. In fact, she was such a poor shot she hit him in the head. At least, Craig preferred to think that she didn't mean to aim for his skull. The note was sealed with a sticker, probably because Craig's phone number was Top Secret Information of the Craig Collective, to be given out to no one but those who the royalty that is the quarterback Craig Tucker, number 18, chose to give it to. This internal hierarchy gave him a rather rough reputation in the friends and respect department.

‹  _Craig, do you know where Tweek is? He isn't answering his phone and him and Bebe are missing._  › Oh, she noticed it too. Maybe he wasn't being over-analytical.

He stared down the raven-haired girl and when she looked, he shook his head and shrugged slightly, watching her sigh in response. She was worried about them too. Tweek got sick rather easily, but Bebe? That chick was always in school unless someone died, and that someone would have to be her. Fuck being late to your own funeral, Bebe would be the one there before she even needed a funeral. Cloudy-minded again, he went back to pulling apart his frog.

The bell rang as he slipped his dissection paper into the turn-in bin and turned to walk out. The smell of weed and rotting corpses faded as he floated out of his classroom. Luckily enough for him, practice was cancelled and he could go home after his next hour - english. Like a machine, he followed his routine steps, forcing himself to even stop at Cartman's locker to slam it shut when his fat classmate opened it. Hearing Cartman swear at him as he bolted down the hall was exhilarating. Three years ago and he never would've slammed his locker shut, but football had whipped Craig into a pretty fast runner. He was free to do whatever he wanted, as long as he could run his way out of it.

His hour flew by as Craig looked forwards to the crisp, cool air of walking home early. The boy appeared overjoyed as he floated down the hall with a smile on his face. He looked up at the cloud-filled sky. Overcast at last, Craig was free from his thoughts and worries, and from football practice.

* * *

The day crawled on as the group skilfully avoided Tweek's parents' coffee house. Bebe and Pete were in the dining room of Chris' parents' Harbucks, enjoying free coffee as they waited patiently for Tweek to come back downstairs. Eventually their patience grew thin as they texted the blond that they were going back to the club for a while longer. In an odd turn of events, they had loved it, It was moderated by wristbands handed out at the door and separated by age group. Tweek even got to sing a bit of karaoke. Tweek closed his eyes and listened to the heartbeat of the taller boy next to him. The cold November air cutting over the ledge of the roof they sat upon. He nudged closer as Chris hugged him tighter in the night.

« Tweek, look up, it's your favourite constellation, » Chris lifted the other boy's head up away from his phone screen and into the night sky. The Orion's belt constellation shown bright in the sky, Tweek mapping out the rest of Orion in his mind as he shuddered at the wind chill.

« Did you mind tonight? » Glassy green eyes with brown stripes gazed up at the olive-skinned boy as he smiled.

« No, no. I loved hearing you sing, even if that girl who was flirting with you made me a bit uncomfortable, »

They shared a laugh as Tweek hugged him tighter, preventing his mind from wandering to another person who also meant the world to him. He blinked a few times to clear his mind. While he'd never tell Chris that he was crushing on another boy as well, he knew with time he'd lose his feelings for Craig and Chris would have all his love, obstacle-free. While watching the stars twinkle in the heavens, his eyes seemed to take the shine from the sky as he melted into his date. Love is supposed to be patient and kind, but his heart wasn't sticking to his plan. He still felt soft for his once-best friend and he knew eventually he'd have to tell Chris about it if it didn't fade. How is love kind if it might cause him to lose his…boyfriend?

_Yeah, calling Chris my boyfriend feels right…_  Tweek's thoughts drew closed as his face blushed and he allowed himself to fully relax in his boyfriend's arms.


	4. jealous

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Thank you for reading! this entire chapter is going to be in Craig's POV. I want to showcase his emotions during all of this, especially to shed some light on his confusing thoughts in the past chapters. I formatted this chapter differently as opposed to the style i'm used to, which spaces out dialogue between each speaker, because of some complaints.
> 
> * - a suicide is a type of workout in gym. It's very strenuous. You can google it if you need a better picture.

Craig kept refreshing his text message feed. All night had gone by and not a single text from Tweek. Even now in the morning, no word from his best friend. That dumb scenario of him asking if his closest friend was gay kept replaying in his mind. Was Craig that out of conversation ideas? He knew Tweek was gay before, and seeing how awkward the smaller boy acted when he asked was just embarrassing.  _You're supposed to be his best friend_  Craig thought, stretching his limbs across his bed. He was starting to push how late he could sleep in. He just kept scrolling up and down, waiting for a text. While his energy was low, he had courage. Craig pondered a simple question. "Do you want to come hang out tonight?" No, thats too friendly. "Wanna hang?" Ugh, too casual. « Shall we play a game together tonight? » What was he, from 1855? With hearing his mom's yell to get out of bed, he pulled himself up and made his way to the bathroom. Bags lined his eyes and his hands were as cold as ice. He combed his hair, watching himself in the mirror. The blue light bounced off of the bathroom tiles and made his tired eyes hurt worse. As soon as he turned on the water to brush his teeth, two smaller hands and a red headed girl pushed her way in front of him. He smiled as he pushed her aside.

"No fair Craig! You've been sleeping! I get the bathroom first!" his eleven year old sister, Ruby, complained as she grabbed her brush and pushed on his hips to make him move over. Craig spit into the sink and rinsed off his tooth brush as he stuck his tongue out at his sister. He would've flipped her off, but between holding his toothbrush and pushing her back, he didn't have a free hand. It took a few minutes of pushing and shoving, but Ruby finally stopped fighting and they shared the space. Craig pulled back from popping a pimple to notice his sister's hazel eyes piercing into him through the mirror. He looked at her and cocked an eyebrow. "You can tell me anything, you know." She spoke softly, not fighting him and not monotone. He took a step back as to leave the bathroom. "I know you slept in because you're thinking too much." How did she know? Was he that readable? Craig stopped in the door frame to listen. "You can talk to me if you're having relationship issues with Rebby" His sister started to brush her own teeth now. "Oh right, Red." He said, typical monotone, nasal, flat voice. He made his way back to the fortress that was his bedroom.

He slipped into sweatpants and a hoodie he "borrowed" from his dad. The navy blue hoodie with a cheesy font read "San Antonio" on the front. It was better than the jean jacket he was planning on wearing, especially since it was practically a blizzard last night. A white light illuminated his dark room, a small, muffled tone bounced off the walls. He walked over to his bed and checked his phone again, a message from Tweek made his heart jump into his throat.  _‹ can you pick me up today? it's too cold to walk.. ›_  Craig's heart jumped into his throat. He could easily grab his dad's minivan, yeah. Not to mention, Tweek only lived, what, seven minutes away?  _‹ Yeah, absolutely dude. ›_  he texted back, maybe a bit too eagerly.  _‹ thanks!'_  when his phone buzzed again, that was the message. He zipped up the hoodie and walked downstairs, putting his dad's car's keys into his pocket as he then grabbed the piece of toast him mom was holding out to him. To no surprise, the car was covered in a thick white blanket. For a quiet little mountain town, snow was far from their best friend. Craig pried open the door to the car and sat inside, turning on the heat to defrost the windshield and windows. In a perfect world, Tweek would hop in the car and gift Craig some peppermint hot cocoa, the car's freezing interior wouldn't feel so cold then. Maybe the mere hope of his childhood best friend bringing him hot chocolate on such a day was enough to get him moving. Craig revved the engine a bit, ran the wipers, and the frost was melted enough for him to see.

The route to Tweek's was so ingrained into him that he could have driven there in his sleep. Come to think of it, when was the last time he had drove over there? Too long, he thought, as he pulled up into the driveway, he watched a blond mane peek out from the window, the rush to open the door and exit the home. A figure layered in a yellow and black striped scarf, with a very comfortable-looking green flannel jacket, hopped over to the car with a spring in his step. With a small shiver, he opened the door and practically threw himself inside. Craig watched as his friend revealed two thermoses, one etched with stars and the other a plain black. Tweek set down the two cups, setting the black one closest to Craig. He must've seen Craig eyeing it, because he broke the static with a small peep. « It has hot chocolate in it, » Tweek's voice broke and cracked with his small shivers, « I thought it could be repayment for going out of your way. » Craig thanked him, making a small remark about how it wasn't a big deal, and waited until the blond was situated enough to start driving again. He could insist that it really wasn't a bother to pick him up, but he knew that Tweek wouldn't be so easily convinced. He'd rather not potentially fuel an anxiety attack. Craig hadn't even noticed, but Tweek somehow found the AUX cord and selected a song. He looked over , but couldn't see his Tweek's face when he realised that it was a song he had shown Tweek a year or so ago. He could feel his face heat up as he too redirected his gaze back onto the road. The school was in sight. Normally this silence was the result of fun energy lost in between jokes, not the result of conversation topics being exhausted. Nice and boring, Craig always liked that. Why wasn't he liking it now? As he turned into the school and found a spot, Craig perked up.

« Are you still sick? » Tweek raised his head up from fiddling with his phone. His eyes looked glossy but slightly dull. « Uhm, yeah, I still fe-e-el k-kinda shitty, » Tweek's face blushed as he stuttered over his words, « that's why I uh, asked you to come get me, too cold for me out there. » The soft chuckle from Tweek as he finished his sentence in peace made Craig smile softly. As they both were climbing out of the car, Craig could hear Tweek swear. Rare and unusual. « Oh shit, i forgot my glasses.. » The blond's small hiss at himself gave Craig an incentive. At lunch, he'd go and grab them. After all, Tweek's spare key was hidden in the birdhouse in the tree out front, it wouldn't be hard to go get them. Or would that be overstepping the boundaries? Tweek and him were best friends, but, as the years went on Craig could tell that Tweek was pushing him away. What did he do? He couldn't recall a day where he wasn't doing all he could to be a good person to the person he cared about the most. Craig just tried to keep the bridge strong between them. They entered the school and Craig brought up a conversation. « So, how's life Twe-, » He glanced over his shoulder to notice that the blond had slipped away into the crowd. His face fell as he kept walking.

Craig found his way to his homeroom. Kenny was leaned back, looking pretty upset about something. As he took his place next to the trailer rat, as Cartman would call him, he breathed sharply. Kenny was wearing a rainbow-ring necklace today, he noticed. « Craig, » Kenny said, adjusting himself to slouch over his desk. Craig cocked his head to the side slightly, and Ken took the signal to keep talking. He mentioned the last school football game and talked about how he lost a bet to Cartman over who would win. Craig would've taken offence at such an underestimate of his team's ability, but he blew it off. He found himself continuously staring at Kenny's necklace. He must've noticed, because Ken started playing with it, eventually putting it under his shirt. « Ken, what was that necklace? »  _Stupid._  Craig mentally kicked himself over the absolute ridiculousness of his question. To his surprise, Kenny looked a bit flustered and pulled it back out of his shirt, toying with the multiple rings layered over each other. « It's uh.. » the blond boy smiled softly to himself before letting it fall down his face, « it was a gift from Tweek. He wanted me to be proud of who I am. » Craig sat back, he felt his heart flaring up, as well as something else. Tweek really loved Kenny, huh? Maybe that's why he was pushing Craig away, Craig couldn't acc-

The bell rang and as he could come out of thought, everyone around him had left up from their chairs and ran out the door. He collected his bag and walked out alone. Turning left in the hall to make his way to his literature class, Craig passed by Wendy's locker, Bebe was sort of leaned against the lockers as Wendy was digging through her multiple shelves of binders and multicoloured pencils. They were both chatting, but it seemed to hush as he came near. « Anyway, Tweek finally gave in and is meeting up with his boyfriend again tonight, » Bebe's higher voice couldn't be mistaken with anyone else in the school. « Oh that's great! » Wendy smiled and fixed her hair in her mirror, « have you met him? Is he a good guy? » Bebe shrugged, but at this point if Craig turned to watch them anymore, he'd be called creepy. Once again he felt his heart light up a deep maroon. Red could help. She always had the answers for everything. Despite being his pretend girlfriend, Red was surprisingly good at helping people understand their emotions. Aside from pretending to be his sweetheart, she took up a different role - his emotional counsellor. Where his parents slacked off in emotional security when he was a child, Red, for some reason, decided to pick up the slack. Lucky for him, Red was his next seat neighbour and reading partner in British Literature.

« I just feel..this emotion. It's like a twisting in my chest » Craig whispered, tucked away in the corner of the class. Their reading groups were a good time to talk, especially since they were all in different corners of the classroom and everyone was already talking loud enough to hide his voice. Rebecca, or Red, tilted her head, listening. She glanced down at her book when their teacher made her rounds. « Does it feel like fire or, what? » The girl sat across from him said calmly. « Yeah, yeah! Like this sort of..burn. I feel like I should be… » Craig darted his eyes around, looking at his hands. « Uh…I don't know. » Red smiled softly. « Sounds like you're jealous, hun, » She poked him in the chest, « Your heart must want something it doesn't or can't have. » Craig leaned closer to her. « like what? » Red had to hold in a laugh. « Are you asking me that question, Craig? » She looked at him like he should know something that he doesn't. His cluelessness was a trigger for Red to help tie together some loose ends. « Well, what made you feel like that? » He thought for a few seconds. « Well, when I overheard Twee- » He stopped for a second when he saw Red's eyes light up. She knew something. « I..I overheard that Tweek has a boyfriend and, » He found it increasingly harder and harder to force words out of his mouth. « I f-felt like that. » Red grabbed his hands and met his eyes with hers. « Craig, do you like Tweek? » He scoffed. « Of course! He's my best friend, he cares about a lot, he's always friendly and he brings me hot chocolate, Stripe loves him and I always like to be in his comp- » Red silenced the taller boy's quick listing of all of Tweek's qualities with a small laugh. He felt his face get hot as he clenched his teeth together.

« Craig, I think you have a crush on Tweek. » How ridiculous, a crush on his best friend? A crush on his childhood almost brother? Red had to be wrong.  _Yeah, she must be wrong._  Craig slammed his locker shut and whipped around in the direction of Gym. Craig wasn't jealous. He had to be jealous that Tweek got to sit with the girls and he got all of their attention. But then, why did he want to take Kenny's necklace right off of his neck and wear it for himself? A few suicides* in gym class would put him back in his right frame of mind.

Walking into the lunchroom too many minutes late, Craig breathed deeply before gathering his pride. He approached the noisy table full of girls, Tweek, and the red-haired goth. Their chatter ceased as he drew near. Was he that bad of an omen? He tapped on Tweek's shoulder, and the boy jumped and shook before looking up at him. Craig drew back a bit, not meaning to scare him. Tweek smiled softly and turned towards Craig, swivelling on the seat of the lunch table, « What's up d-dude? » Craig glanced at Red really quickly, who gave him a look of determination. « Do you want to come over? It's been a while since we've hung out and I just got the new season of Hitman, » Craig smiled, and Tweek's eyes lit up. For as quiet and innocent as Tweek appeared, Hitman was his favourite game. Of course, it's not like he really played it, Tweek more or less watched Craig play and cheered him on. The blond jumped up and with the brightest eyes he's ever seen, said yes. Wendy laughed a bit at Tweek's dramatic response, but he was always like that way when excited. If Wendy had known him for as long as Craig has, she'd know that. Red looked at Craig like he just kicked a field goal. Bebe smirked, but went back to talking to Pete. « Cool, see you later, do you need a ride home too? » Tweek nodded as he sat back down and Craig started walking away. Even with this now planned, when his brain trailed back to what he overheard between Bebe and Wendy, his heart cramped up. For whatever reason, he felt nauseous.

When he went out to his car at the end of the day, the bitter frost biting his nose and ears, he spotted him. A blond mane was easily spotted against the white snow and dark paint of the cars. Tweek was texting someone, but he was all bundled up, he could've passed for a penguin.. a very blond, tall, shivering penguin. The drive to Craig's was more pleasant than the morning drive, with Tweek's little chirps and happy tone bringing the entire tone of the evening up. When they entered the Tucker household, Ruby studied them off before retreating upstairs.

« Do you want any tea, coffee, or..? » Craig asked his guest. Tweek unscrewed his thermos and checked the level of the liquid inside. « Ye-ah, please.. » Tweek handed the thermos over. Craig's parents had a Keurig, nothing to what Tweek was probably used to, but better than nothing. Lord knows how bad Tweek's headaches get if he doesn't have coffee at least three times a day. Craig held the metallic blue cup and ran his fingers over the engraved stars and constellations. It was the same one Craig gave him for his sixteenth birthday. The spaz had broken his last thermos by dropping it down his basement stairs. Craig was watching it fill up with dark brown bean liquid as he remembered the last time they truly hang out alone.

_The spring breeze flew over him as he managed to find his way out of his house and into the darkness of the night. Illuminated by the moon and the stars above, a fifteen year old Craig was sneaking out again. The pine trees would aid in his escape. His phone read 11pm, and he had a very set path. He looked up at the stars to see if a certain man was still in the heavens above. When he noticed the three stars aligning, he continued through the neighbourhood. This wasn't unusual, at least not when they were younger. As he found his way to the house he was looking for, he picked up a few pebbles. He couldn't break the window. Craig wound up his throw and tossed a small rock at the window. A few seconds passed and he tossed another. This time, a light turned on inside. The window opened, revealing a boy with an unruly blond mop. He saw Craig, and smiled. The light shut off, the window closed, and within a few minutes the duo was outside and off. Their path to the pond was overgrown since the last time they traversed it. Nevertheless, they found their way. Their spot, a small picnic bench with a perfect view of the stars, waited for them. The two boys stayed until the dead of night, stargazing and sharing stories. Tweek fell asleep next to Craig, the boy's soft snoring almost put Craig to sleep too. Craig carefully and gently wrapped his hand around his friend's, holding it. Something felt right, and Craig let himself lull into sleep. They were far from children, and Craig knew it wasn't what he was supposed to be feeling, but being so close and trusted by his best friend..something resonated with him._

The noise of the coffee maker shutting off after brewing a full cup made him stretch from his hunched over position. Craig took the cup back to his friend, who was by now all wrapped up under the many blankets that were on the couch. Would asking Tweek to share be too far? He hesitated and instead directed his energy towards turning on his playstation, putting the game in, and grabbing his controller. Ruby had so carefully painted the NASA logo onto the front and decorated it with star stickers. He smiled at it before Tweek perked up. « Have you heard? The new season has an elusive target where you have to hunt down Gary Busey. » Tweek ended up laughing at his own statement, and Craig joined in. « No, no, I hadn't heard..I'll be sure to use a duck bomb. » Tweek quacked, then made a boom sound and hid his face in the blankets to hide his laughter. Good god was he being cute. Craig's smile was almost beaming. As the game loaded up, and the first mission started, Tweek's chirps of advice and laughter from each ridiculous kill Craig went out of his way to perform, he found himself feeling the same emotions that he did back at Stark's the last time they stargazed. Amazingly, Tweek barely even stuttered, it was clear he was enjoying watching the game. « Do you want a turn? » Craig offered, but Tweek pressed one button and somehow managed to drop a proximity mine and kill Agent 47 immediately. His saddened ‹ Aww › was enough to let Craig know he didn't want to play.

Rough footsteps of boots entered the home as the duo was playing into the coming night. Craig's dad entered the house and was probably going to shut their gaming session down. Tweek was always nervous around Craig's parents, and he quickly got up and said goodbye to Craig. Craig nodded and watched his friend wave at his dad before promptly leaving. Craig's dad put his hand on Craig's shoulder before sighing. « I thought I told you to stop hanging out with that boy, isn't he fruity? » Craig stepped back. « Dad, he's my best friend, I don't care if he's ga- » His dad's blue eyes pierced him and ended his speech.

If he was younger, he'd run right back out to Tweek, grab his hand, and take him back out to Stark's to stargaze. But, as Craig knew all too well, he wasn't a child anymore.


	5. Canary

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi i'm not dead despite literally not updating for over six months. please enjoy this, i know it's shorter than the others but it's gonna help me get back into writing.

It was a rare sight to see him in the band room. It was a rare sight to see him anywhere, honestly. His anxiety was far from as bad as it was a few years ago, but he still didn’t like being in a place he didn’t belong. His bright blond hair was a sun against the black instrument cases and sheet music stands. He’d been here before; welcomed, loved, in fact. But he hadn’t done that in so long. He had come here against his mind; alone, with the room empty. This room looked so old to him now. He didn’t dare turn on the lights. The wallpaper the school put up was cracking and the curtains over the windows made only a small light shine in from the ripped fabric. The cool blue light piercing the darkness made the room feel like heaven for a soul trying it’s best. The dusty old piano lurking in the back welcomed him. He lifted the lid covering the keys and stretched his hands, breathing in the nostalgia. He pressed a key; the soft noise made him smile. Tweek always loved how calm the piano seemed. No matter his jitters, it waited. 

He breathed again, starting a melody. To warm up his voice, he started with small hums and hallelujahs, filling the air as his voice resonated in his chest. The vibration in his lungs felt like home, and he started recalling a song to play. A, D, G, he played each note. «  Ooh, I'm not ready, » he deepened his voice as far as it could go, as it bounced off the walls, escaping the room without him knowing, « Snakes are biting at my heels. » He closed his eyes again, taking in the moment and playing each key from memory. The songs always fuelled him with emotion- sometimes emotions that weren’t his own, but rather the emotions of the song writer. « The worries that refuse to let us go, » He breathed at an awkward time, making the timing falter slightly, « I’ve been kicking them away, » Tweek sang with elegant precision. Only stopping to breathe every few lines, his determined fire lit up the room, his voice the fuel. As the song drew to a close, he breathed deeply and released his tension on the old marble keys of the grand piano. He tapped a few keys and tried to decide on another song to play. Tweek had hoped if he could remember one or two, a few more would come naturally. He messed with a few scales and keys until he sighed and just stared. Like a bolt of lightning, a song refreshed in his memory. He played the opening bit a bit too deep, testing the waters and adjusting which keys he based the melody on depending on the song ringing in his head.

Craig was strutting down the hallway, well, more or less he was sulking. But he had to keep up his confident outside, so he lifted his head high and tried to appear more stoic than he really was. His phone was buzzing a bit, and he struggled to even care about it. Odds are it was Red, asking him how the events of Monday's unfolded. He didn’t want to talk, the more he thought about it the angrier he was with his dad. But he didn’t care, he was going to go eat lunch with the probably-frozen squirrels outside again anyhow. Craig heard piano music flowing from the hallway he was about to turn down, and he wondered why. Band class wasn’t in session right now, he didn’t think so anyhow. He shrugged it off and kept walking towards the exit, until a soft and jittery voice rang in his ears. « i’ve got the good side of life.. » He peeked in thru the door to confirm his thinking. « And i’ve travelled the universe twice.. » The blond bird’s nest was easy to spot. Taken aback by what he heard, he found himself just staring again. Tweek wasn’t the musical type, so why was he singing? Or, a darker thought rolled into Craig’s mind, did he really not know that much about his best friend as he previously thought?

Tweek rose from the piano as the lunch bell rang. He had to get out of there before anyone noticed, or he’d get yelled at again. As he turned to leave, the ghost of a figure, the impression that he wasn’t alone in his musical session, shook him. He shivered before just shaking his head and trying to forget it.  He hurried through the halls, trying to appear not suspicious but also not seem as if he was intruding. As he made it to his class, he sighed before settling in.

Craig’s woodworking class was probably the most boring, with Mr. Adler screaming to not fool around almost constantly, he could barely focus on what he was supposed to do, which was to carve something. His mind kept drifting back to the airy voice he had heard coming from Tweek, with minimal stutters, and kept imagining Tweek singing at him, no, for him. His face must’ve gotten hot, because Kenny smirked at him, the perverted smirk that the other boy had always given him when he was caught blushing, or in other…unfavourable...circumstances. Craig tapped the wood, when his eyes lit up. A canary. Tweek was a canary, a bright yellow puff with a melodic voice that could captivate so many.Something about this compliment told him that it would be enjoyed. As he drew out the template and traced it onto the balsa wood block, he found himself humming the lyrics he heard. Was Red right? No, of course not, Tweek was just a close friend..It would take more than that to convince him of that, though, as Craig found his mind not believing himself. The bird he sketched was rather round and was perched on a small stand, with an open beak and a head towards the sky, declaring it’s words for the world to hear. He seemed happy, and when he started carving, he found himself easily finding the edges he wanted. He smiled, but had to leave the small songbird in the class as the bell rang.

The day was drawing to a close, and Craig felt a smaller hand poke him. He looked behind him and Tweek was there. The blond smiled and asked softly for a ride home. His nose was running, Craig nodded. He couldn’t let him be sick in the foot and a half of snow they had. With practice today, though, he had to rush a little. The car’s heat seemed to perk up the frozen boy a bit more. His happy chirps of conversation lead Craig to smile, and it didn’t go unnoticed. Tweek lit up too, even attempting to crack a joke, « that’s lit, » Craig laughed almost immediately at Tweek’s attempt to be cool. Tweek blushed, « was it that bad? » Craig smiled and shook his head. « No, no, just..a little out of place. » The drive seemed almost too quick as Craig pulled up the the familiar driveway. After thanking his chauffeur, Tweek hopped out and made his way into his house. 

When Tweek entered his home, his parents were waiting with something hidden behind them. « Mom, dad, what are you doing? » He asked, and his parents smiled wide. Suddenly, he sneezed loudly, and he heard a flutter and crash from behind his parents. « Well, Tweek, we were thinking that you needed something else for here, something to teach you a little more responsibility, » His dad started, and moved aside, revealing a bright yellow and green bird with black stripes all over. Tweek’s eyes shined, and he walked over to the cage. A little Parakeet looked back, and his parents smiled widely. « Do you like him? » His mother asked, and Tweek nodded quickly. « Thank you! » He chirped, and the bird inside the cage chirped back. Before even needing a notion from his parents, he grabbed the cage and trotted upstairs. He burst his door open and set the cage on his desk, finding the small package of food, toys, and a water bottle on his bed. The little parrot chirped, but bit him when he unwrapped and hung the cutesy grape-shaped wooden toy in the cage, along with the small mirror and fuzzy pom-pom toy. Tweek winced a little, but the bite didn’t hurt. He took a step back and tried to think of a name. Everything needs a name, right? He paced around, trying to think of a word that would sum up this little ball of fluff and beak. Autumn, Blue, Mika, none of the names were working. None of them seemed to justify the little creature’s existence. Tweek paced and paced until a small chirp caught his attention. « Erp-er! » It seemed to say, and suddenly it clicked. « Pepper! » Tweek seemed overjoyed, the bird chirped again, and Pepper was now part of the family.

* * *

Craig was busy getting chewed out by the coach. He had stumbled over his feet and got a bloody nose, apparently that was enough to cause practice to stop and him to get called out. He just scoffed and rolled his eyes until the coach seemed to be sympathetic for once. « Is something on your mind, Tucker? » He swallowed and shrugged, « Sort of, but it’s not that big of a deal. » His coach laughed and pushed him softly. « Obviously it is, if it’s causing you to fall flat on your face. Is something up with your girl? » Craig had to hide the fact that he was internally cringing at the mention of Red, but some part of him wanted to argue why he even was cringing. Maybe the rainbow necklace was a sign. Nevertheless, he had to think of a lie, and a convincing one. « Yeah, Red’s been kinda irritable and.. » he trailed off, but the coach nodded in what appeared to be understanding. « Why don’t you take her out tonight? Maybe talk things through and see what you can change or fix. » Craig nodded. His coach smiled, « I know this stuff can be rough, but once you get out of high school and have more experience with relationships, it gets easier. » Craig smiled back and put his helmet back on. Even if he was still feeling shitty, the coach expressing compassion made him feel a little better. 

Like his coach had said, Craig called up Red almost immediately after practice, but not for a date night. « Do you want to just grab food and chat? » He asked, fixing his hair through the FaceTime camera. « Sure, do you have some stuff to talk about? » Red cracked a smile as if she already knew. « Why else would I be calling? » Red rolled her eyes at his remark. « Probably because we have to keep this believable, my parents even offered me condoms due to how much time we’ve been spending together. » Craig laughed slightly, « at least they care, Rebby. » She looked offended and smiled. « See you tonight, pick me up at six. » She stuck her tongue out before hanging up. His smile faded afterwards. Oh well.

Home was’t always fun. Craig’s dad was always pressuring to know every little detail about his relationship and his practice and how well he was doing in school. His mom, on the other hand, seemed to just be happy he would smile every once in a while. Ruby, however, was where the little weasel came in. She would read his texts and his phone log, and question him every time she saw a message sent to Red without a heart in it. While she could be annoying, he felt she may be the most understanding out of all of them. Home until six wasn’t so bad, neither parent was home so it was just him, Ruby, and the reruns of Harry Potter that kept his sister company. At around 5, he went and got a shower, brushed his hair, and was almost getting dressed until his little sister barged in. « Get out! » He growled, fumbling with a towel. « What are you gonna wear tonight? » He looked around and shrugged. « A SHRUG? Craiiigg, this is your girlfriend, you need to look nice! » Whoever gave Ruby the confidence that she thought she could be a fashion consultant should be fired from their job, immediately. Craig shrugged again and pushed her out, locking the door and just staring at his hands. He had to get his shit together.

Red wasn’t dressed up, she literally just wore the same clothes as she did to school, and Craig felt a wave of worry come over him. How the fuck was he gonna be able to talk about all of this? Red entered the car and pushed him a little to bring him back to Earth. He smiled and began driving to the nearest Denny’s. Might as well enjoy the chicken strips i'm going to eat, he thought. Once they parked, Red looked at him. « You need to tell me everything, » she said, and he nodded. « And I will tell you, just over french fries and lemonade. »

With a table full of food and a pitcher of lemonade, Red pressed him to start talking. « Well, you see, » he trailed off, and struggled to find his words. « I think i’m having issues with..coming to terms with this. » She cocked an eyebrow, « With what? » He spoke between shoving fries in his mouth, « This whole situation with Tweek, and my dad, and my own confusion. » She nodded, and he continued. « Like, I feel like i would be okay dating a girl, or even marrying one, but then I find myself thinking more about dudes and I even fucking looked up gay porn last night. » The last part was in a quieter voice, despite them being in a rather isolated part of the restaurant. Red looked down at her food before saying, « Have you ever thought about how happy you would be with a girl versus a guy? » He nodded. « I mean, I feel like I’d be happy with a girl, but thinking i’d be happier with a guy comes more naturally… maybe I’m bi? » Red blinked. « It’s a possibility, but I think that’s for you to decide. After all, It’s not about wanting to be with a guy or a girl, but more about the person you currently feel attracted to. » She was making sense, like always. « Do you think you’d be attracted to and happy with, lets say…Taylor swift? » Craig raised an eyebrow before shaking his head. « I don’t think I could deal with the popstar thing. » Red nodded. « Ookay, so try to think how you’d feel if our relationship was a real one. » He looked down in thought. Would he be happy with someone like Red? She is a good person and all, but… He looked around before speaking. « You know, I cannot remember the time I actually felt attracted to a girl. » 

Red smiled. « Then isn’t that your answer? » 


	6. I wonder if we're dead

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been so super motivated recently and IDK how or why, but this chapter came out so naturally and flowing. I hope you enjoy!

Tweek’s phone buzzed, awaking the sleepy boy from his Sunday slumber. The new sun was bringing golden rays into his room, and Pepper was chirping softly. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, yawning and stretching a bit before grabbing his phone. The notification took over his phone, a text from Chris. _‹  hey, twee, there’s a carnival going on in Denver today. Want me to come pick you up? xx ›_ He smiled at his phone and replied _‹ of course! only if ur driving ♡ ›_ and he stood up. Tweek walked over to Pepper’s cage and smiled, whistling a little and telling him good morning, to which he got a small chirp. In the past week, Tweek’s gained the little bird’s trust rather quickly. Pepper was becoming a well-accepted member of the household, with even his parents adoring him. Tweek smiled before heading to the bathroom.

Tweek returned to his room after a shower to find his phone lit up with notifications from Bebe, Clyde, Pete, and even Henrietta. I wonder why i’m so popular all of a sudden, he thought, as he sat down on his bed and began to read them. _‹ Are you and Chris going to the fair today? If so, Clyde and I were thinking about going too! It could be a double date! ›_ Bebe’s text made him smile again, and he replied _‹ maybe, bae. c: ›_ The next was from Clyde, who…for some reason had sent him a video. Interested, Tweek hit play. 

_A campfire out in the woods was lit and alcohol bottles were being passed around. Cartman, Craig, Kenny, Token, and Stan were all surrounding it, laughing and telling jokes. It was clear they were all very, very wasted. « so, Craig… » Cartman started, and the camera jumped to focus on the practical stick figure of a guy. Craig raised an eyebrow and Cartman continued, « How’s Red? Get any ass lately? » Craig sighed and his head slumped backwards, looking up at the sky. Cartman scoffed and pressed more, « How the fuck are you sighing? You’re with one of the prettiest girls at our school. You’re not queer, are you? » Craig rolled his eyes, still not using his words. « You ARE gay! » Cartman exclaimed, almost falling over when he stood up. « Cartman, shut up! Why are you even bugging him about it anyway? » Stan tried to come to Craig’s defence, and Clyde chimed in, « Stan, i mean, we’ve all been thinking the relationship is a sham, right guys? They barely even ever hold hands! » Token glared at the person behind the camera, Kenny looked a bit worried and was fumbling with his parka, chewing on the strings. Craig took a big swig from his bottle before speaking. « Alright, listen, but this stays here. » All eyes drew to him. « Red and I aren’t dating, not for real at least. » Cartman’s eyes lit up and he started shouting « I knew I was right! » over and over again. But the camera stayed on Craig, who was staring into the fire. Token was whispering to him inaudibly, Craig looked like he was about to cry, and the camera shut off._

What even was that? Tweek thought, trying to wrap his mind around the video he just saw. Craig and Red aren’t dating? Then why were they always together? And why was Craig almost crying? So many emotions rushed throughout his body, and he suddenly felt sick. Why was he busy worrying or caring about Craig’s relationship? _I have a boyfriend, why do I care?_ Tweek thought, but something in the back of his mind reminded him, almost too real, as if someone was speaking to him, _you love him, too, you idiot_. He shook his head and went to brush his hair. Maybe getting ready would help him take his mind off of things. Pete and Henrietta’s texts were left forgotten.

A knock on the door and the chime of the doorbell summoned Tweek downstairs. He was dressed rather casually, with some comfortable pants and a green hoodie over his cactus ringer tee. Chris smiled as the door opened, and hugged the blond. « Are you ready to go? » He asked, and Tweek shook his head. « I want you to meet Pepper. » Chris smiled again and followed Tweek upstairs. As the door opened, Pepper’s chirps could be heard, calling for his friend. Chris’s eyes widened and he went right over to the cage and opened the door. « Step up, » He commanded, and Pepper listened, hopping up onto his finger. Tweek smiled and sat on his bed, watching his boyfriend whistle, talk, and love the new companion. Chris sat next to Tweek, Pepper in hand, and kissed the blond’s cheek. Tweek smiled and pressed his head into his shoulder, closing his eyes as Chris continued whistling. He didn’t realise whether time was passing quickly or if he had fallen asleep, but Chris was nudging him softly, telling him it was time to leave. 

Cotton candy, popcorn, hot dogs, and elephant ears. The scents were overwhelming, attacking the senses from all sides. The screams of adrenaline and the laughs from children chasing each other around filled the air. Normally, Tweek wouldn’t want to come here. His anxiety sparked around crowds and he often had hallucinations in loud places. But with Chris, he seemed calmer than he would have been without him. « Why don’t we start with the dragon coaster? » Chris suggested, knowing a bit too well that the Dragon ride was the only roller coaster that Tweek could stand without getting a panic attack. Flustered, Tweek nodded and the two stood in line. Soon enough, they were being thrown in a crooked circle with ups and downs. While the ride lasted a fraction of the time than what Tweek remembered it did from childhood, there was a small smile that wouldn’t go away without a fight.

But then, it happened. The thing Tweek was worried about. As they got off the ride, and as Chris kissed his forehead through laughs, Tweek peered to the side, and an all too familiar figure looked at him. Craig. What was Craig doing here? Why was he here? His ice blue eyes pierced into Tweek’s skull and froze him to his core. Chris blinked and looked at him, saw him staring. « Twee, what’s up, what do you see? » Tweek broke thru the inch-thick ice and looked away from Craig. « O-oh, just..someone from my school. » He said shyly. « Do you wanna talk to them? » Tweek hesitated, but then thought it may not be a bad idea to introduce Craig to Chris. « Uhm, sure.. » Tweek looked back at Craig and waved. Craig motioned for him to come closer. The pair joined Craig at a small metal table near the coaster. 

« So, Who’s this? » Of course that’s what Craig had to ask. Tweek faked a smile and replied. « This is Chris, he’s… » He paused for a second, and tried to pass it off as a stutter, « M-my boyfriend. » Craig seemed taken aback, but smiled painfully, unnoticed by the others. « Nice to meet you, » He said as he took a sip from his Harbucks hot chocolate. « Oh, did you get that downtown? » Chris asked, and Craig nodded. « That’s my parent’s coffee shop, down the block from Tweek’s. » Craig blinked, « Cool. Is that how you know the spazz? » Chris looked confused for a second, but nodded. Craig offered the hot chocolate to Tweek, who was shivering slightly. He took it and drank a little before surrendering it back to it’s owner. Chris tried to start up a conversation again, « Have you met Pepper? » Craig raised an eyebrow, « Who’s that? » Tweek cut in, « Oh, I uh, my parents got me a parakeet.. » he grew quieter with each second he spoke. Craig blinked again and smiled. « You’ve always loved birds, that’s great. » Tweek smiled sheepishly and kept his gaze averted. Craig peered behind them and noticed Ruby running towards the table with an elephant ear in hand, with Red following closely behind. « Uh-oh, look out you guys, Ruby the destroyer of worlds is coming close. » Ruby scoffed, and stuck her tongue out at her older brother, Red snickered. At the joining of a fourth and fifth member, Tweek stood up. « It was nice to see you again, Craig. »

_It was nice to see you too, fucking liar._ Craig’s thoughts hissed at him at the pair’s departure. Ruby was midway through her elephant ear and Red had wrapped her arm around Craig’s, texting someone. In what seemed like a second, Ruby ate the rest of her treat and shot up from her seat. « I’m gonna ride the dragon! » She said, running away from the table, but still in viewing distance of her protector. As soon as the little gremlin was out of earshot, Craig hissed, « Fuck. » Red’s attention went onto her friend. « You wanna talk about it? » She tilted her head, and Craig’s eyelids drooped. He sighed and placed his head on the table, that had probably not been cleaned in days. « Of all fucking people I could see here, I have to see Tweek and his broad-shouldered boytoy. » Red scoffed and pushed his face lightly. « At least he’s having fun, he looked happy. » Craig didn’t think this time before words flew out of his throat. « But he isn’t having fun with _me_. » Red smiled almost evilly, « You like him, you really like him. » Craig groaned and pulled his hood over his head. She was fucking right, why did she have to be right? Why did seeing his best friend happy make him so angry? He should be happy that he’s happy, not wanting to replace the one who made him happy. « He didn’t even tell me he had gotten a bird, do you know how much that hurts? He used to tell me everything. » Pain was ringing in his voice, and Red pushed her hand under his head to run her finger against his cheek. Craig looked drained of his life force, way more than usual.

« Is this what it’s like to be dead? » 


End file.
